Drone
Term used to describe any fully robotic construct. Utilized in nearly all aspects of life, drones are a prime moneymaker for corporations and even those that do not specialize in robotics will at least tinker in the realm of drones. There is a important distinction between the term drone and sentiment machines such as Guardians or Fallen as they are seen as above simple automatons. Types of Drones Worker Drones * Nixie - * Big Pal - Bipedal drone typically used for heavy lifting and construction. Designed with a friendly aesthetic to increase sales the Big Pal traditionally comes painted in a variety of bright "safety" colors. On occasions terrorists or hackers have re-purposed these machines to smash military defenses or bank vaults. Transport Drones .]] * Canis - A commonly used dynamically stable quadruped drone. The Canis is capable of carrying nearly 150 kilograms on its back and still maintain its footing regardless of the terrain. Appreciated by both militaries and civilian organizations alike, the Canis is even a popular model for family hikes. * Tortoise - Large heavy transport drone built by the now defunct ZeeZee Online. Deemed too cumbersome by most customers the Tortoise was never as successful as had been hoped. Sturdy, reliable, and capable of transporting loads of up to 500 kilos the machine did find considerable use by the Queens Guard who often would outfit the drone with auxiliary guns to help ensure its survival in combat. Despite the closure of ZeeZee Online many existing Tortoises remain in use even if finding parts for them has become increasingly difficult. Combat Drones * Buzzard - Rapid deploy aerial combat drone originally produced by Dye-Tech before the designs were sold to Quanton Machinery. The Buzzard is equipped with an ultra-compact hover system enabling it to remain in flight for extended periods of time. Often sporting small caliber miniguns, rockets, and even micro bombs the Buzzard is typically used as cheap and disposable air defense. Their design features folding components allowing the drone to be stored in small launch tubes frequently mounted on bombers, large thopters, and military installations. There even was a variant deployed from a shoulder mounted launch system though it never saw wide spread use. * Caracara - Hovering reconnaissance drone produced by Quanton Machinery. Less than a meter in length and capable of maintaining flight for long periods of time the Caracara is excellent at simply hiding and observing. Armed with a variety of light weapons such as tasers, stun darts, and a 9mm gun, it can not hold up in a straight out fight so its use must be somewhat covert. * Harridan - Variant of combat drone only found on Roommenor. Originally built by Divider, the Harridan models were six legged machines typically equipped with either a 75mm gun or a rocket artillery system. Used as mobile artillery they were frequently found trailing behind the main advance to provide long range fire support. In addition the Harridan's were also equipped with projectors for a deflection system. While they were unable to utilize the system on themselves it was designed to protect the advance of certain elements of Divider's army, giving them just that extra edge to close the gap. Following the end of the War of a Century, surviving Harridan machines are folded into the Queens Guard and later the Alpha Clan. * Kestrel - Bipedal combat drone produced by Quanton Machinery, the Kestrel is possibly the most popular armed model in the world. Armored against small arms fire and equipped with a minigun mounted on each forearm the Kestrel is capable of keeping up with human infantry as well as fitting into transports and spaces otherwise meant for traditional soldiers. It is not without its flaws however but the price point keeps majority of those complaints at bay. * Horus - Heavily armored bipedal combat drone produced by Omni Corps. Most believe it was originally designed and manufactured by some small independent firm before the larger corporation bought them out. The Horus is more akin to a walking tank, standing roughly 3.5 meters in height and plated enough to withstand majority of light antitank weapons. Frequently outfitted with dual .50 caliber machine guns and micro-rockets the Horus is a slow but dangerous adversary on the battlefield. Despite this they are more often found in urban protection or pacification roles. * Baku - Six legged combat drone produced by Quanton Machinery and just a step behind the Kestrel in popularity. Loving referred to as the "Crab", the Baku does somewhat resemble the crustacean. Equipped with a variety of interchangeable arm mounted weapon pods enables the Baku to fill nearly any combat role when the time calls for it. In addition the claws and spurs mounted on its legs grant the machine the ability to scale walls, something of considerable use in dense urban environments. * Hound Drone - Somewhat experimental bipedal combat drone built by Proton Robotics under direction of the Alpha Clan. Desiring something to further assist them in dealing with Guardians the Dragoons required the Hound Drones be powerful and cunning, capable of quickly coordinating to take down the larger machines. First tested during Operation Achilles with frighteningly effective results the Alpha Clan ordered the drones be further fine tuned to ensure their capabilities. During the Invasion of Roommenor Hound Drones were among the first units landed, fighting their way through the coastal cities to the very base of Mount Reverence. While considerably effective it was soon discovered that in the process of making them intelligent enough to kill Guardians, Proton Robotics had inadvertently made them too intelligent, bordering on sentient. This was deemed heresy by the Alpha Clan and all remaining Hound Drones were dismantled and scrapped.